From a spare room in Hertfordshire to a workshop in North London.
We've been printing and embroidering small runs since 2011 — starting with local charities who couldn't justify big-print-run pricing, and growing from there.
Studio illustrationNao Creative started in 2011, printing small runs of t-shirts to keep costs down for local charities who needed a handful of shirts, not a warehouse full. That word-of-mouth start among charities and community groups is still most of who we work with today, alongside small businesses who want the same thing: a proper job, without the minimums.
Since then we've moved from Hertfordshire to North London and added embroidery alongside printed vinyl, so there's more than one way to finish a garment properly. What hasn't changed is the size of the orders we're happy to take on — small, always.
More recently, the same small businesses and charities we print for started asking us to sort their website hosting and email too — and, when off-the-shelf software didn’t quite fit, to build them something of their own. So hosting, email and custom app development are now part of what we do as well.
A few things we don't compromise on.
No order too small
We were built around small charity orders, so a small run has never been an inconvenience here — it's the point.
Ethical brands & sustainability
Sustainability is important to us. We choose ethically focused garment brands such as Stanley/Stella, and keep orders to the quantities you need rather than encouraging unnecessary extras.
One point of contact
You speak to the same people from quote to delivery — no ticket queue, no call centre.